Understandably, Sony explaining what has happened raised a lot of questions and the company has now responded to those calls for more information. This morning a FAQ has been posted on the PlayStation Blog covering the ten most asked questions.

We have a summary of the new information presented in the FAQ below.

On the most important issue of credit card details, Sony has confirmed that all credit card data was encrypted on their system. There is also no evidence that credit card data was taken, but Sony is just being cautious when asking us to keep an eye on our bank accounts. Another positive is Sony has never stored the card security code (CVC or CSC) so no hacker could ever have had access to it.

On the issue of tracking down who hacked the system, Sony has confirmed it has hired a private security firm to look in detail at the breach. Law enforcement is also involved and helping to track down the individual or group. It’s clear Sony wants a criminal prosecution regardless of where the hacker resides in the world.

As for when PSN and Qriocity will be back online, there is still no definite date. However, Sony has now said it expects some services to be functioning again no later than May 4th. What these services are has not been stated.

When PSN is back online it will have a brand new security system in place. Sony has also decided to move to a data center in a much more secure location with a beefed up infrastructure too. As you can imagine, they really don’t want this to happen again.

Finally, Sony has reiterated that users just need to be on alert to any communication they receive over the coming months. And while there is a lot of coverage about the risks, Sony is currently emailing all 77 million users with details as to what has happened and what precautions should be taken. It takes a while to send that many emails so expect yours soon if you haven’t got it already.